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Posted On October - 9 - 2017Comments Off on Everything You Need to Know about Baking Bread with a Bread Machine

We all know that store-bought bread isn’t the healthiest bread option, as it contains preservatives and numerous synthetic ingredients. However, baking bread at home can be difficult and time consuming, that is if you do it the traditional way. Bread machines on the other hand promise to deliver healthy and delicious bread, with minimum effort. If you have been toying with the idea of buying a bread machine, here is what you need to know about this bread making technique.

1. It is important to buy a quality bread maker

Like it goes with all appliances, the quality of the bread machine can make a big difference in the end result. Does this mean that you have to buy the most expensive machine on the market? Not necessarily, but you do have to keep an eye out for certain features. First of all, in order to get a fluffy and well baked bread, you need a machine with excellent kneading capabilities. For this purpose, chooser a unit with 2 kneading paddles. Secondly, unless you want your bead to have a big hole in the middle, make sure that the machine either has collapsible paddles, or it has an option that allows you to remove the paddles after the kneading cycle. Programmable features are also nice, as they give you the option to enjoy the freshly baked bread, at your desired time during the day. Last but not least, if you want to prepare different types of bread, make sure that the device comes with specialty features, that allow you to bake with different types of flour, to add special ingredients in the mix like nuts and seed, or even to make cake, jam, noodles and other types of foods.

2. Learn how to make bread using the breadmachine

You don’t need special skills in order to operate a bread machine, but how complicated this process is, depends on the type of bread machine that you own. If you chose a device with all the features that we mentioned above, all you have to do is put in the ingredients and program the device to start at a certain time. Otherwise, to learn how to make bread using breadmachine, you will have to carefully read the machine’s instructions. There are also some facts that are universally true for all machines.

Step 1: Adapt the recipe according to the bread bucket capacity

If you want to try different recipes that you find online, it is important to know the capacity of your machine’s bread bucket, in order to properly adapt the recipes. Do this by gradually filling the bucket with a certain amount of water cups. For 10 cups of water, you can make 1and a half pound loaves, for more than 12 cups, you can make 2 pound loaves, and for less than 10 cups, you can make 1 pound loaves.

Step 2: Add the ingredients in the right order

Start by adding the liquids, followed by the flour, which should sit on top of the liquids. Next you can add different dry ingredients like salt, sugar, spices or powdered milk. Last but not least, add the yeast, but make sure to add it in the dry ingredients. The yeast should not touch the liquids before the machine starts kneading, because if it activates too soon, it will completely ruin the recipe.

Step 3: Select the right baking cycle

Depending on the machine that you own, as well as on the chosen recipe, you need to select a proper baking cycle. Moreover, unless your machine has a special dispenser for special ingredients, like nuts and seeds, you will have to stay around and add the ingredients manually after the mixing cycle. Some machines can feature alarms that let you know when you can add these extra ingredients.